Videos

Report: There’s ‘no traction’ on any type of Lakers deal for Kyrie Irving

Published by
Peter Dewey

The Los Angeles Lakers have been rumored to be pursuing Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving this offseason, but a deal between the two teams may not happen.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, there isn’t any traction on a Lakers-Nets deal surrounding Irving.

It was reported that the Lakers are “desperate” to get a deal done for Irving by moving Russell Westbrook, but the team apparently would have to give up draft capital as well to get the deal done.

Irving would be a major upgrade for the Lakers at the point guard position, but he only played in 29 games last season due to his vaccination status. Irving has one year left on his contract after he opted into his player option for the 2022-23 campaign earlier this offseason.

Los Angeles is looking to improve its roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis ahead of the 2022-23 regular season. Westbrook was a precarious fit on the roster last season, as he struggled playing off the ball with James.

Last season, Westbrook averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from beyond the arc.

While the Lakers could run things back with Westbrook on the roster, they could waste another year of James’ career by doing that. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 season partly because James and Davis went down with injuries for big chunks of the campaign.

It will be interesting to see how the Irving situation unfolds throughout the rest of the offseason.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

Luka Doncic gushes about Jaxson Hayes’ impact for Lakers: ‘For me, it helps a lot’

Los Angeles Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes sat out four games earlier in the month…

March 18, 2025

Report: There was ‘initial fear’ that LeBron could ask out after he was not consulted about Luka trade

The Los Angeles Lakers' recent four-game losing streak notwithstanding, the team's decision to part ways…

March 18, 2025

Lakers insider reveals LeBron James and Rui Hachimura could return ‘by the end of the week’

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost three of their last five games played, and forwards…

March 18, 2025

Lakers insider says Jaxson Hayes will have suitors that will try to poach him in free agency

Los Angeles Lakers big man Jaxson Hayes hasn't suited up for the storied franchise since…

March 16, 2025

Antoine Walker says LeBron wasn’t actually ‘unguardable’ in pickup game with MJ: ‘That wasn’t the case’

Earlier this year, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James recounted a story about playing in…

March 15, 2025

Dorian Finney-Smith says he noticed JJ Redick was ‘a little off’: ‘All the greats are a little bit off’

Before veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and began playing…

March 14, 2025